


Sadie Hawkins Dance

by msmaj



Series: 2019 Songfic Writing Challenge [9]
Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-03-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:07:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23402722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/msmaj/pseuds/msmaj
Summary: Good things come to those who wait, but what if you wait too long?(Songfic #9) A song that makes you happy: Sadie Hawkins Dance- Relient K
Relationships: Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Series: 2019 Songfic Writing Challenge [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1513286
Comments: 14
Kudos: 70
Collections: 7th Bughead Fanfiction Awards - Nominees





	Sadie Hawkins Dance

_ The Sadie Hawkins dance _

_ In my khaki pants _

_ There's nothing better _

_ Oh oh oh _

_ The girls ask the guys _

_ It’s always a surprise _

_ There's nothing better baby _

_ Do you like my sweater? _

**Sadie Hawkins Dance- Relient K**

Time: 12:47 p.m.

Location: The hallway outside the cafeteria

Objective: Get Jughead alone for five minutes to ask him to the stupid dance

The Sadie Hawkins Dance. It had been her idea, after all, in some convoluted (not-so-subtle) attempt to get control of the raging crush she’d developed on one of her childhood best friends. The natural course of events should have put her firmly crushing on her all-American neighbor and other childhood best friend, Archie Andrews, and for the briefest of moments, she had... until Jughead walked up to their favorite swimming hole the summer before ninth grade and inadvertently taught her all about what true desire was. To say Betty had been blindsided was an understatement.

Three years later and she’s still staring at him from across the room—though it might as well be the other side of the world for all he seems to notice—as he sits with the friends he made during his brief tenure at Southside High. Even if she made it impossible for him to forget her by calling and texting constantly, Betty hated (and still hates) those three months more than anything. When he walked back into Riverdale High with Toni Topaz—who was ten ways of sexy Betty could never measure up to—her heart broke. 

Despite reassurances from Jughead himself that they were only friends and Toni was far more interested in the fairer sex, Betty couldn’t help but wonder what it would take for him to ever look at her the way she swore he looked at Toni, but wondering was all she did. Despite her initial beliefs, as time went on, she saw only genuine friendship between them, and nothing else.

As relieved as she was, she was more guarded with him than she’d been before. She tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to will her crush away on more than one occasion, but his proximity and renewed involvement in the Blue and Gold made it damn near impossible. 

When she’d mentioned a Sadie Hawkins Dance a month ago, he scoffed.  _ “ _ Really, Cooper, did we time travel in our sleep? Is it somehow the fifties again?”

As annoyed as she’d been, she hadn’t exactly expected him to be enthusiastic about the concept. Jughead wasn’t particularly fond of any, or all, typical high school activities. Least of all school dances. 

“Would you go?” He looked at her with furrowed brows and an incredulous smirk. “If someone asked you to the dance, would you go?”

She hoped her face didn’t betray just how anxious she was for his answer. “The only reason I ever went was for the food. I don’t know why that would change now.”

Her heart dropped from her throat to her stomach. All the other dances he’d gone to were with her, and apparently it had only been for access to the refreshments table. Choking back tears, she nodded and went back to work on her article. 

That was the last time they’d spoken more than a few words to one another. He’d tried, on several occasions, to initiate conversation between them, but she always found a way out. Between the paper, the dance committee, and cheerleading, Betty always had a viable excuse, but it was getting harder and harder to avoid him. 

Especially since nothing seems to get by their vulture friends. Veronica, Archie, Kevin, and even Reggie know about her crush and despite all their reassurances that Jughead would reciprocate, she simply cannot get their last conversation out of her head. Of course, he’d say yes if she asked him to go to the dance. She was in charge of the food which guaranteed the selection would be everything he wanted. 

(Not that she had suggested his favorites first, or anything. That would just be weird.)

Betty pulls her phone from her back pocket and checks the time just as the bell rings. She knows he has Chemistry after lunch and if she keeps stalling, Ethel Muggs is going to ask him then. As much as she likes Ethel, she won’t let that happen...even if his saying yes only means he’s hungry. 

“Betty!” She swings around, book and binder for her next class held tightly against her chest. 

“Kev, what’s up?” Her tone is short and words clipped as she looks back at the now empty Serpent table. 

“You will not  _ believe  _ who asked Jughead Jones to the Sadie Hawkins!”

Betty’s head snaps back to her brunette friend. “Wh-what?” She manages to stammer as she realizes she’s lost Jughead in the receding crowd. 

“You know the new girl, Sabrina?” Betty nods even though she’s a world away trying to remember if she’d seen the petite blonde at his table. “Well, she just walked right up to him and sat on his lap—”

“Oh crap, sorry, Kev, I’ve got to...I mean I have this...I have to go.” Holding her books even closer to her, Betty makes her way to class trying to will away the bile and tears that keep threatening to spill over.

Of course, she’s glad she didn’t have to actually see it. She spent the majority of her lunch period psyching herself up to ask him, so Kevin’s unwelcome interruption saved her much of the face she’d have lost if she actually had caught up to Jughead. 

There are only two periods left in the day, and one is study hall. She just needs to make it through Trig then she can have a proper breakdown in the Blue and Gold. Betty takes her seat quickly and wills the minutes to pass faster than they ever had in math. 

Eighty-five minutes later she slinks into the Blue and Gold. Closing the door as she enters the room, Betty’s forehead smacks against it as it clicks closed.

“That hardly sounded pleasant, Coop,” the voice behind her causes her eyes to pinch tightly. “Now, you wanna tell me why you feel like you need to slam your head into doors?” 

She takes a deep breath in and turns on the exhale, dewy lashes fluttering open. The smile on her face is forced and fake, and she knows instantly he can see right through it. Still, she steps toward where he’s leaning against the desk. “It’s just been one of those days, Jug. Nothing’s going my way, but, it’s mostly my fa—”

“Don’t you dare,” he punctuates with a sharply pointed finger in her direction. Her eyes roll as it retracts, and his arms cross over his chest. “I don’t know what’s going on with you, but I highly doubt it was your fault.”

“How would you know, Jughead? Where have you been?”

His bag falls to the ground as he stands up, confusion and anger sewn into his brow. “Excuse me? I’m right fucking here, Betts. I haven’t gone anywhere!”

Betty’s own brow raises incredulous. “No? Then where are you on movie night or game night? I know Archie misses kicking your ass as much as I do, but every single time we ask you…” her voice trails off knowing that, while this is all true, it’s nothing to do with the matter at hand. “I miss you, Jug.”

“Okay, so why are you freezing me out? If you miss me then why can’t I spend more than two minutes with you? Every single time I’ve seen you in the last three weeks you’ve literally run away from me.”

Her tongue feels heavy with the words she wishes she was brave enough to say. She wants to scream at him, ask why not her, why never her, what does she have to do to get his attention? 

Instead, she drops her books onto the nearest surface and crosses her arms, staring back at him intently. “Why do you think, Jug?” 

She’s met with a blank stare that hurts as much as if he’d just said ‘no’ to her. Betty tightens her ponytail and drops into the desk she’s set her stuff at. “Just forget it. Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“It’s just English. I will not be missed.”

Betty sits up a little straighter, slightly more curious than before. “I thought you had English with Sabrina?”

“I do,” he leans back against the desk directly in front of her. 

“Well, I just thought after lunch you’d want to spend as much time with her as possible.” Somehow, her voice barely breaks as the words leave her mouth.

His head shakes as confusion emerges as the dominant emotion. “Were you even at lunch? I don’t remember seeing you...but no, Betts. After that Debra Morgan confessing love to her step-brother level of awkward, the  _ last  _ thing I want to do is see Sabrina.”

“Oh. I just thought since you were going to the dance together maybe you’d want to see her more, I don’t know. At least you have a real date this time and won’t have to use me for access to the refreshments table.” She tries her hand at levity, and it falls flat between them. She’s not sure she’s ever seen the particular look adorning his face.

“Betty,” he sighs softly as one of his dexterous hands pulls the beanie from his head and the other slides through the dark waves. “That wasn’t, I mean, that’s not what... You can’t actually believe that’s what I meant!”

She finds herself standing despite not wanting to react. “That’s what you  _ said _ . It’s not like I was trying to decode it the way I do ninety-nine percent of our other interactions. For the first time since you came back to Riverdale High, you actually said what you meant.”

“Decode? What the fuck does that mean?” He pushes off the desk he’s been leaning against and surges onto hers. “I have never been anything but real with you. Only you. Only  _ ever _ you.” 

“Bullshit.” She leans in, both sets of their hands grip the edge of the desk as the staredown continues. “For the last  _ year,  _ I’ve done everything I can to try to get you to notice.”

Jughead scoffs. “Notice what?”

“Me, Jughead!” She sighs, pushing off the desk and turning away from him. “I wanted you to notice me.”

Betty runs weary hands over her face. She’s so sick of crying, so tired of feeling lonely even though she never seems alone. The tears crest in her eyes but don’t spill down her cheeks until she’s grabbed by the elbow and spun around. 

“Do you really think I didn’t—that I  _ don’t _ notice  _ you?  _ That I don’t see just how often you tighten your ponytail, or the way your hands ball up at your sides when you’re angry, or the red rings around your eyes—”

“I have allergies!” 

“No, that’s what you tell everyone but I know they’re only bad in the fall. This is something different,” he stops holding onto her elbow but doesn’t stop touching her. In fact, his hand slides up her arm and cups around her shoulder before finally resting at her neck. Long fingers wrap around the base of her neck, he thumbs at the hollow of her throat and the breath stills in her body. “Betty…”

Her eyes flicker to his. They’re dark, tidal pools in a tempest as his body invades her space in the most perfect way. She wraps a hand around the wrist that holds her, his pulse pounding beneath her fingers. Betty doesn’t even notice he’s moved, not until his lips are on hers and she’s carding her free hand through his unruly hair. An undignified moan escapes her, and she stills, only to feel Jughead’s grip on her throat tighten as his other hand slips to her ass and pulls her tight against him. His thumb traces a path up to her chin, guiding her head so he can kiss her more deeply.

She’s not sure how long they’ve been kissing. Frankly, she’s not sure she even cares. If kissing him once feels like this, she can’t wait to do it again. And again. And again. Maybe at the dance…

She pulls away abruptly, Jughead’s eyes slowly blinking open and crossing in confusion. “What? Did I do something wrong?” Betty doesn’t break the contact, just leans back as his hands drop to her waist. 

“No, Jug, that was perfect. This was everything I hoped it could be. My thoughts just got a little ahead of me.”

A frown creases his brow while a hand slides up her back and threads through the flaxen waves of her ponytail. “Then what is it, Betts?”

“Sabrina,” she blurts out. “I know she asked you to the dance, and here I am, practically throwing myself at you. But, to be fair, I had planned on asking you to the dance which is why you didn’t see me at lunch. I was too busy trying not to have a panic attack over it, and then I saw Kevin first, and he told me Sabrina made it  _ very _ clear she wanted to take you to the dance—”

“Hey, hey, breathe Betty,” smirking, Jughead stops her before she rambles all of her oxygen away. “Did Kevin happen to tell you what else happened at lunch?”

Betty’s eyes drop in embarrassment as her head shakes  _ no _ . The light tug on her ponytail forces her eyes back to his, which implore her to tell her story. “I kinda, sorta, maybe ran away from him after he said she sat on your lap.” 

“So you missed the part where I said ‘no’ and asked her to remove herself from my space. She did not take too kindly to that, so avoiding English wasn’t unintentional.”   
  


“Why did you say no, Jug? If you were just looking for an excuse, she’s a smart, funny, gorgeous one.”

“Because the _ only _ person I wanted to ask me is standing in this room.” Both hands come to frame her face as she holds onto the lapels of his threadbare flannel. “Because a few weeks ago I thought she was going to, and I was only recently made aware of how gloriously I fucked that up,” she laughs, feeling his thumbs sweep up her cheekbones while she drowns in his eyes. “Because I never wanted an excuse to go to the dance. I just wanted to spend time with you, be around you, and how could fourteen-year-old me have ever imagined that the girl of his dreams actually dreamed about him too?”

“Jug,” her voice a whisper swallowed by the silence. She grabs his face between her hands and pulls it toward her.

“Wait,” he breathes against her lips. “I think you have something very important to ask me.” She feels the upturn of his lips on hers, and her bottom lip finds itself between her teeth as she tries to hold her grin at bay.

“Jughead Jones, will you go with me to Sadie Hawkins?” 

“Only for you, Betty Cooper,” he says no more, simply slants his mouth over hers and kisses her like she’s never been kissed before. For the first and only time, she's happy that it's taken this long for anything to happen, because she can't imagine there's a better feeling in the world than  _ this _ . And she fully intends to test that theory for as long as he'll let her. 

**Author's Note:**

> What, another songfic? Moi? No. No...and there aren't like, twenty more to go or anything. Hope at least some of y'all are enjoying them! Feel free to drop a line any time!
> 
> All the thank yous and adulations to Cat, for being such a diligent and thorough beta. And again for saving me with her clutch graphics skills.


End file.
